Chinese Beef Stew with Daikon

It was only last Sunday when we put on our shorts and flip-fops to welcome the apparent arrival of spring. And then late last night came the snowstorm that brings the temperature down from the 70's to 20's, together with 12 inches of snow. Throughout the day, the incessant snow that resembled sifted flour had me wonder if the angels have been busy baking for somebody's birthday.

Seems like the season for comfort stews is far from over. For a wintry night like this, I love having a pot of hearty beef stew simmering on top of the stove to welcome OCT home. Because I still have some beautiful daikons left from making my favorite Crispy Daikon Cake, I decided to make an Asian inspired beef stew. There's a kind of Chinese beef stew which has daikon in it which my friend E used to rave about. She said that her grandma made the best Chinese beef stew with daikon in the entire world. Growing up in a family that doesn't eat beef, I have unfortunately not tasted this form of beef stew before. Neither have I met up with E's legendary grandma who makes the mean pot of chinese beef stew. So this is my take on the chinese beef stew with daikon. The way I envision it to be.In my humble opinion, I wouldn't think it resembles the original version in anyway, but this version is delicious nonetheless.

To inject some chinese flavor in this beef stew, I use some whole unpeel garlic cloves, star anises and five spice powder to season the broth. Instead of fresh cremini and white button mushrooms, dried shiitakes are reconstituted and used. Then I decided to incorporate some of my favorite elements of a classic American beef stew, such as red wine, swanson's low sodium beef broth and carrot into the pot.

You can call it the Americanized Chinese Beef Stew if you must, since I don't make the beef broth from scratch using beef bones, and traded the Chinese Shaoxing wine (which I obviously have in the pantry) for the bottle of leftover red in my fridge. Whatever. Wait. Let's call it......MAC BeST. (Mandy's Americanized Chinese Beef Stew, get it? :))

I know. It's lame. Just humor me by pretending that it's funny for a second, ok?

I am submitting this recipe for the Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Anna of Morsels and Musings this week. The rest of the world deserve to know that daikon tastes great in beef stew. :)


MAC BeST (Mandy's Americanized Chinese Beef Stew)

1.5 pounds sirloin tip roast,trimmed and cubed
2 medium onion, peeled and minced
1 large daikon, ( about 12-14 oz) peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1.5 cups chopped carrot
2 cups of low sodium beef broth
1 cup red wine
2 cups water
10-15 dried shiitake mushroom, reconstituted in warm water for 1 hour until soft, halved or quartered, depending on how big the shiitake mushrooms are
1/2 tsp five spice powder
2 star anise
5 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tsp salt
white pepper


Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Remove to a plate.

Place flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge beef in flour, shaking off excess. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil + 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of beef mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Add browned beef to onion. Repeat procedure with remaining beef mixture and 1/8 teaspoon salt.

Add 1 cup wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add star anise, five spice powder, broth, sugar, mushrooms and garlic cloves; bring to a boil. Stir in beef mixture. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for one hour or until beef is tender.

Stir in daikon and carrot. Simmer for one and a half hour to two hour or until beef and vegetables are very tender and sauce is thick, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with salt and pepper. If time allows, increase the total cooking time to 3 hours, so that all the ingredients have more time to meld together.

p/s: The beef stew tastes better the next day!

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Another week has passed.....

My life is pretty boring at the moment. I have been flipping through Desserts by Pierre Herme with "ohh" and "ahh", getting really excited and making mental notes to make this and that recipes. Well, except I am still bumming around, staring at my laptop screen. Sadly, I have done nothing.

Last week was pretty hectic, having to look for a dress to attend OCT's commencement, attended the actual event itself (which I had to sit under the merciless sun for almost 3 hours ALONE!) followed by the hooding ceremony.

I was pretty exhausted by the end of day and had to cancel the downtown walking tour that we intended to go with some of our friends.

Because I wasn't at my top form, I decided not to be over ambitious when it's time to make a birthday cake for our little friend Benjamin who is going to be three years old. As a result, I made a Hummingbird cake, which was also the same cake I made for his mum-BP last year.

I picked out all the large strawberries as decor on the cake but realised later that the smaller one would have looked better on the cake. Lesson learned. Bigger doesn't always mean better.



As last week simply flew past with a blink of an eye, dinners were the usual fare without much fuss. I managed to try a new dish though. It was good enough that OCT had the delusion of hearing it called his name on our vegetarian night.

This is the dish I am talking about : Beef and Mushroom Ragu.

I also made the bacon with miso glazed corn, which I like. And ready made Japanese Vegetable Curry! Actually it was an accident. I thought I bought the curry paste. But turned out that it's an all in one instant japanese curry with vegetable. It wasn't too bad and the gravy went well with rice. .

Here's a snapshot of one of our dinners last week.

Hopefully, there will be more new recipes coming up on my blog this week.

Shredded Beef and Mushroom Ragu
adapted from Cookinglight May 2007

1 cup hot water
2 cups dried porcini mushrooms (about 2 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 beef short ribs, trimmed (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced cremini mushrooms (about 8 ounces)
2 cups thinly sliced onion (about 1 medium)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth


Preheat oven to 350°.Combine 1 cup hot water and porcini mushrooms in a small bowl; let stand 10 minutes. Drain mushrooms through a fine sieve into a bowl, reserving liquid. Chop mushrooms; set aside.

Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper over ribs; dredge ribs in flour. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ribs to pan; cook 12 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove ribs from pan. Add porcini mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; cook 12 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add wine, scraping pan to loosen brown bits. Add mushroom liquid and broth; bring to a boil. Add ribs to pan; cover. Place pan in oven; bake at 350° for 2 1/2 hours or until ribs are tender. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove meat from bones; discard bones, fat, and gristle. Shred meat with 2 forks; return meat to pan. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cool completely. Place mixture in an airtight container or heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; freeze.

Thaw meat mixture overnight in refrigerator. Place mixture in a large saucepan over medium heat; cook until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently.

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Chinese Style Stove Top Pot Roast

I think I am slowly getting more organized. For example, I just planned for a whole week's menu. Alright, no big deal. But if you know me, you know how haphazard I am, so this is definitely a good start. After planning what's for dinner this week, I feel a sense of purpose when dinner time approaches.

Tonight we have Chinese Stove Top Pot Roast. Had I not planned for this recipe earlier, I wouldn't be able to serve dinner on time! Because the pot roast took a good 3 hours to cook! Normally I would choose something that can be cooked within a short time, but this recipe has been lying in my to-try-list for awhile; Moreover, it is also one of the staff favorites for October issue of Cookinglight, so I decided to give it a try.

When I have high expectation on something, I can't help getting disappointed when it doesn't turn out the way I expected. My pot roast is a far cry from the authentic Chinese five spice beef stew. It isn't too bad, but just not as good, as those authentic one that I have tried. Having said this, this recipe is one with potential, which I think I will give it a try some other time, with maybe more star anise or five spice powder, and some chinese chilli oil....

Chinese Style Stove Top Pot Roast

(Adapted from Oct 2006 Cookinglight magazine)

Ginger, soy sauce, star anise, and Chinese five-spice powder infuse this dish with Asian flavor. If you can't find fresh Chinese egg noodles, substitute rice noodles or even linguine.

4 teaspoons peanut oil, divided
1 (2 1/2-pound) sirloin tip roast, trimmed
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
5 cups fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup dry sherry ( I used red wine)
1/4 cup thinly sliced peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 star anise
2 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps
2 cups (2-inch) julienne-cut carrot (about 2 large)
4 baby bok choy, halved lengthwise (about 1 3/4 pounds)
12 ounces fresh uncooked Chinese egg noodles ( we eat it with rice)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle roast evenly with five-spice powder and salt. Add meat to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Add broth and next 6 ingredients (through star anise) to pan; bring to a simmer. Cover, reduced heat, and simmer 3 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Remove meat from pan. Cover and keep warm.
Strain cooking liquid through a sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and carrot to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Add bok choy and 4 cups reserved cooking liquid to pan. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until bok choy is tender.

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Divide noodles evenly among 8 bowls. Shred the meat with 2 forks; arrange 3 ounces meat over each serving. Top each serving with 2 tablespoons vegetable mixture and 1/2 cup broth. Place 1 bok choy half on each serving; sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons green onions.

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Barbecue Meatloaf

We have Barbecue meatloaf with rice tonight. Another fusion meal. Meatloaf is popular in the US. So popular that there are so many different versions of it. I tried the basic ones before, in whick ketchup was used. This time, I do a BBQ version using my new meatloaf pan.

I like it better than the ketchup version. OCT has no preference. He said he can't remember how the other version taste, but he is sure that two versions are equally nice. I prefer to eat meatloaf with bread. It simply tastes better, than eating with rice. We have so much leftover that I don't have to cook dinner tomorrow. Perhaps I should bake something tomorrow?

Barbecue Meatloaf

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, extra lean (raw)
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup chopped onion (I also added finely diced carrots)
1/3 cup barbecue sauce, divided1 tablespoon
prepared mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder (I used paprika)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large egg whites
Cooking spray

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the beef, breadcrumbs, and onion, 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce, and remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.

Shape meat mixture into a 9 x 5-inch loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread remaining barbecue sauce over top of meat loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut loaf into 12 slices.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 slices)

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Simple Bolognese

Ok, this is a simple recipe. And I know you must be thinking: who need a Bolognese recipe! The thing is, I devote this whole week to try the recipes in Giada Le Laurentis Everyday Italian Cookbook. And this is one of the recipes that people on the net raved about, so I must give it a try and see how it compares to my own Bolognese recipe.

Simple Bolognese

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 pound ground chuck beef
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, chiffonade
8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

Preparation:

In a 6 quart pot, add extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until the onions become very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the celery and carrot and saute for 5 minutes. Raise heat to high and add the ground beef. Saute, stirring frequently and breaking up any large lumps and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and basil and cook over medium low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1/2 hour. Finish bolognese with Pecorino Romano. Check for seasoning.
Serve hot.

Serves 4 very hungry adults.

Note: I think this is a simple basic Bolognese recipe. I still prefer my own version, with which prior marination is required. (Add also includes red wine and brown sugar) However, I like the idea of adding carrots and minced celery to make the sauce more hearty in this recipe.

So much tomato based meals this week, I should cook something tomatoless next week.... Something not Italian...

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Dinner updates

I guessed I haven't tried much new recipes after last week's gathering. For my own record purpose, let me briefly jot down what we had for dinner this week.

I have cooked spinach & feta pasta (again), with cheesedogs on Monday night. (I knew the cheesedogs were unhealthy...but i kind of like cheesedogs....). Ok, I must admit that I was lazy to cook on Monday night. So I resorted to what was the simplest. Both OCT and I disagreed with Feta Cheese. So bye bye Feta, I think I wouldn't have you in my grocery basket anytime soon.

Tuesday, we invited Ade over for dinner. I tried the meatloaf recipe that had received rave reviews from other cooks. I thought it was nice, despite the fact that it wasn't firm, as the picture of the recipe showed. You know, sometime you followed the instructions to a T, and got the taste exactly as it was described, but it just looked quite different from what was featured in the magazine. Well, since we didn't see Ade as an outsider, or guest, so I guessed that's ok. (I hope) We paired that with stirfry cabbage, tofu with mushroom and plain rice. Quite a weird combination, as meatloaf didn't exactly fit in a Chinese dinner. But this was just the kind of thing I liked to do. "Rojak" meal, i called it. It's not exactly western or chinese.

Wednesday night, we had Spaghetti with Vodka sauce, sauteed spinach with garlic, carrot with balsamic vinaigrette and the leftover meatloaf. As usual OCT protested the distinct smell of alcohol, but admitted that he couldn't detect the slightest taste of alcohol in his spaghetti.

Left:Spaghetti with Vodka Sauce Right: scones as my lunch

I must include the meatloaf recipe here, because i really like it and I hope you will try it too!

Meatloaf 101

Ingredients:
4 slices white bread, torn into pieces
1 3/4 pounds ground beef
3/4 pound ground pork
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into eighths
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 large egg
3/4 cup ketchup
4 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400°. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse bread until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a medium bowl; add ground beef and ground pork. ( I only used ground beef)
2. Place onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and parsley in food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Add to beef mixture; combine using your hands. Add egg, 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, salt, and pepper; combine thoroughly, using your hands. Place in an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pan. (I cut everything down, painstakingly with a knife. How I wished I have a food processor!!! Oh, and I used a 9" aluminium disposable loaf pan)
3. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup ketchup and 2 teaspoons dry mustard, and the brown sugar; stir until smooth. (I used normal yellow mustard)
4. Brush mixture over top of the meat loaf. Place the pan on a baking sheet to catch drippings, and transfer to oven. Bake until a meat thermometer inserted in the center reaches 160°, about 1 1/2 hours. (If the top of the meat loaf gets too dark, cover with foil and continue baking.) Let meat loaf stand 15 minutes before slicing. ( I second guessed the doneness because I don't have a meat thermometer!)

Serves 8-10 people (No kidding!It was really filling)

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